Ken Lewis

New York AG says bank misled investors on Merrill Lynch

(Newser) -
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is filing civil charges against Bank of America and former CEO Ken Lewis, saying the bank misled investors about Merrill Lynch when it acquired the Wall Street bank in late 2008. Civil charges also were being filed against Joe Price, the bank's former chief...
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Giant can't lure a star, turns to Brian Moynihan to succeed Ken Lewis

(Newser) -
Bank of America's board of directors today chose consumer banking chief Brian Moynihan to replace Ken Lewis as CEO on Jan. 1. Their pick of an internal candidate followed unsuccessful attempts to hire a star industry executive for the top job at the nation's largest bank. Those negotiations were stymied...
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Outgoing CEO proves critics wrong and paves way for successor

(Newser) -
Bank of America’s move to repay $45 billion in TARP funds marks a triumph for the rehabilitated institution and especially beleaguered CEO Ken Lewis. Wooing a replacement for the retiring Lewis was proving exceedingly difficult as candidates declined to try to run the company with government scrutiny of executive...
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BofA CEO will return $1M and forgo any pay this year

(Newser) -
President Obama's pay czar has landed his biggest punch yet: Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis will forgo any pay this year and return $1 million he's already accepted. But don't start up a collection just yet: The reason Kenneth Feinberg made the request is because Lewis will receive about...
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But President Obama's pay czar could yet step in on that, millions in stock

(Newser) -
An executive pension plan Bank of America stopped in 2001—along with “golden parachute” balloon payments to execs leaving the company—will yield about $53 million for departing CEO Ken Lewis. Lewis, 62, participated for years in the plan, which was frozen the year he ascended to the top...
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(Newser) -
Ken Lewis, the embattled CEO of Bank of America, is leaving the company, succumbing to nearly a year of strife that followed his company's acquisition of Merrill Lynch. The bank said in a statement that Lewis, 62, would retire as CEO and also leave the company's board by the end...
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Former Merrill Lynch CEO denies accelerating bonuses

(Newser) -
Merrill Lynch's former CEO issued an apology of sorts for spending $1.2 million—including $35,000 for a commode—to redecorate his office as the firm bottomed out, Bloomberg reports. “We decorated it in the style that Merrill Lynch offices were, which was very, very nice,” John...
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Foe of 'usury and plunder' won't pay 'til CEO watches video

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A California woman who says she kept paying her credit card bill even after she lost her job has had enough: She's pledging not to pay down her Bank of America account until the creditor lowers her interest rate, the Huffington Post reports.. It’s “the proverbial first...
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Actions saved nation from 'great peril,' he says

(Newser) -
Former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson says his role in Bank of America’s acquisition of Merrill Lynch was appropriate and necessary, MarketWatch reports. “I am confident that our responses were substantially correct and that they saved this nation from great peril,” Paulson told a House oversight committee today...
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He battles accusations that he strongarmed he company

(Newser) -
On Capitol Hill today, Federal Reserve chair Ben Bernanke denied he threatened the job of Bank of America’s CEO when Ken Lewis hesitated on the Merrill Lynch merger last fall, CNNMoney reports. “I did not tell Bank of America’s management that the Federal Reserve would take action...
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Fed's findings mean government may end up as BofA's majority shareholder

(Newser) -
Treasury Department officials have told Bank of America that it's nearly $34 billion in capital short of a passing grade on its "stress tests," sources tell Reuters. The amount is more than triple earlier estimate of BofA's capital needs, and may force the bank to convert the non-voting...
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(Newser) -
Bank of America shareholders gave Ken Lewis a demotion today. Lewis will remain the bank's president and CEO, but he will lose his position as board chairman, the Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders—angry about the bank's plummeting fortunes of late—voted to split the chairman and CEO duties. Walter...
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Fired Merill CEO tries to 'set the record straight' about $3.6B payout

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In his first lengthy interview since being pushed out as CEO of Merrill Lynch, John Thain tells the Wall Street Journal that Bank of America—which acquired Merrill in September—is lying about its involvement in the $3.6 billion in bonus payouts that made Thain the poster boy for...
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Cuomo wants federal investigation

(Newser) -
Bank of America wanted to pull out of its deal with a fast-sinking Merrill Lynch last year but changed course after then-Treasury chief Henry Paulson threatened to oust CEO Ken Lewis and the entire BofA board, the Wall Street Journal reports. The revelation came in a letter to members of...
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After Wagoner ousting, financials fear similar fate

(Newser) -
After the Obama administration kicked out GM’s boss and said two of the Big Three automakers may benefit from bankruptcy, CEOs of banks bailed out by the government are wondering if there's a bull's-eye on their backs, the Washington Post reports. The risk of such a crackdown has been...
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Court demands firm spills

(Newser) -
This doesn’t bode well for AIG: A judge ruled yesterday that Bank of America must identify the Merrill Lynch executives who received $3.6 billion in bonuses ahead of the banks’ merger, reports the Wall Street Journal. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo sought disclosure as part of his...
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BoA argues that disclosure will give competitors an unfair advantage

(Newser) -
A decision could come next week on disclosure of the names of Merrill Lynch employees who received $3.6 billion in bonuses last year, despite the firm posting a $15.8 billion fourth-quarter loss, Bloomberg reports. Bank of America argued today against release, saying its compensation scheme would be a...
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Subpoena issued after CEO's grilleing by Merrill bonus probe

(Newser) -
Bank of America CEO Kenneth Lewis has been ordered to hand over a full list of Merrill Lynch execs who received bonuses just before the bank took over the company, reports Reuters. Lewis was grilled for hours yesterday in the offices of New York AG Andrew Cuomo, who's looking into...
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CEOs defend compensation, call for new regulation

(Newser) -
“We’re lending,” bank executives told Congress this morning, as CEOs including Jamie Dimon, Ken Lewis, and Vikram Pandit testified before the House Financial Services Committee. They also defended the outrage-inducing (but, they stressed, much reduced) bonuses they handed out, according to their prepared testimony. “Our employees...
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